War to the Knife 31

War to the Knife 31

The evening which Massinger spent at this "kingdom by the sea" would

always, he told himself, be marked with a white stone in his calendar.

Nothing could have exceeded the geniality of the atmosphere. The dinner

was excellent of its kind, while the saddle of home-grown, black-faced

mutton, precursor of the astounding shipments which have afforded of

late years such cheap and plentiful repasts to the British working

man, reminded the ex-squire of his home flock. Mr. Mannering produced

claret of a choice vintage, the finest which the guest had met with in

New Zealand. Tales of wild life and strange company were contributed by

the host and Warwick, replete with thrilling interest, as hairbreadth

escapes or hand-to-hand fights were described. Erena's gay laugh or

sportive disclaimer were not wanting, while Massinger took care to play

the part of a discreet listener, less anxious to speak than to absorb

the rare and unfamiliar knowledge which only such men as Mannering and

their guide were capable of imparting.

 

It was arranged that in the following morning Erena should accompany

him to the pah which the stranger was most anxious to see--the

far-famed tribal fortress, the unconquered Whiria, which every

traveller since the days of Cook had lauded for its exhibition of

engineering skill.

 

"You will have full time," said Mr. Mannering, "as the schooner does

not leave until late in the afternoon, and will probably anchor at

Rawene to take in Kauri gum. If so, I trust you will be able to make

acquaintance with my old friend and comrade, Waterton, who is the King

of the Lower Hokianga. I will say nothing more than that you will find

him 'a picked man of countries,' and as such, with other qualities, a

very treasure-house of knowledge. He has not so long returned from an

extended European tour, so that he is well up to date in the old world

and the new."

 

Our hero thought to himself that surely no other country contained so

many notable personages, rich in the courtier's, scholar's, soldier's

eye, tongue, sword, as this astonishing island, in which the human

marvels were not less numerous and unique than those of nature. But

he said merely that he trusted in his luck to provide him with a head

wind, in which case he would be delighted to avail himself of Mr.

Waterton's hospitality.

 

"It is such a pretty house, and quite a wonderful garden," chimed in

Erena. "I think they have every tree in Australia there, besides our

poor ratas and karakas. However, you will see for yourself; only don't

tell the Miss Watertons what a pilgrimage we have done together, or

there will be murder next time we meet."

 

"I shall be most discreet, I assure you; but I am afraid I shall break

down in the cross-examination. What a pity you will not be there to

defend me!"

 

"I should like to go very much; but there will be no more visiting for

me for some time to come, unless the tribe moves away. But if we can't

tell what is before us in time of peace, in war it will be even more

uncertain. And now I must say good-night if we are to walk to the pah

tomorrow and the track is chiefly uphill."

 

Warwick strolled down to the village, bent upon ascertaining the

popular feeling on the subject of the war, and Mannering, having

lighted his pipe and opened a fresh bottle of claret, invited his guest

to take the comfortable armchair on the opposite side of the glowing

wood fire, and "launched out into a wide sea of reasoning eloquence."

 

His guest was not anxious to retire early, though having a fair

amount of exercise to his credit. He was one of those lucky people

who are capable of deferring sleep to a more convenient season if any

specially exciting affair be on hand. Reflecting that he might never

have the opportunity of enjoying such another symposium, or meeting so

many-sided an entertainer, he resigned himself frankly to the occasion.

The bottle of claret was finished, and perhaps another or two opened,

the second of the small hours was near its close, when the _séance_

was concluded, and Massinger retired for the night, well pleased with

himself as having had good value for a protracted _sederunt_.

 

Hour after hour had he listened to the charmed converse of this

extraordinary personage. Much had he seen, much read, deeply thought,

in solitude revolving the social and scientific problems of all ages,

bending a vigorous and original mind to the solution of the dread

mysteries of life and death, with much solemn questioning of the Sphinx

regarding the Here and the Hereafter. He could imagine him travelling

onward through the dread solitudes of the Antarctic pole, sledge-borne,

like the creation of Frankenstein, or turbaned and robed as an Arab,

urging a camel through the arid wastes of the Western deserts. Of all

inhabited lands south of the equator, his knowledge was complete and

accurate, and in every clime or condition of life the guest could well

believe that the analytical, all-comprehensive, unresting intelligence

was testing scientific results or garnering knowledge. And yet, _Cui

bono_? What contributions to the use and enjoyment of mankind could

such a protagonist, in every contest between man and nature, have

furnished? Would he bequeath such a treasure to posterity, or would his

wisdom die with him?

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER X

 

 

A few hours of soundest sleep sufficed for the guest's present needs.

Looking through his casement, he beheld the sun just clearing the tops

of the pines ere he summoned this secluded world to its occupations.

Early as was the hour, Mannering was already dressed, and strolling

through the garden with his matutinal pipe. The kainga was alive and

busy; women hurrying to and fro, preparing the food for the day;

children clustering around in expectation; the young people bathing in

the river or launching their canoes. The hovering flock of sea-birds

showed where a shoal of _kakahai_, at which they dashed from time to

time, ruffled the surface of the water or leaped above it. All nature

was responding to the day-god's summons, as a warmer glow suffused

the sky and tipped the crown of the frowning dark-hued pah with gold.

Massinger betook himself to the jetty at the foot of the garden, and,

plunging into the clear cool depths, felt refreshed and strengthened

for whatever the coming day might provide, returning after a lengthened

swim just in time to dress for breakfast.

 

"I thought that you and my father would never leave off talking last

night," said Erena, as she came into the hall, looking as fresh as the

morn, which she not inappropriately typified. "You did not disturb me,

for I slept soundly for hours, and when I awoke, thinking it was near

morning, I heard your voices, or rather my father's."

 

"I am not certain that I should have gone to bed at all if he had not

suggested it," said Massinger. "I never had such a glorious night."

 

"I am glad to hear you say so. It is such a treat to him to have a

visit from any one who knows about books and the world, that he cannot

find it in his heart to leave off. When Mr. Waterton pays us a visit,

they talk all day and all night nearly."

 

"What is that you're saying?" called out the man referred to from the

garden. "Who is taking away my character? I have no better answer than

a paraphrase of Charles Lamb's: 'If I go to bed late, I always get up

early.' There will be plenty of time to sleep when there is nothing

better to do; that is, if Te Rangitake and his Waikato friends will

let us enjoy ourselves in our own way, which I begin to doubt. In the

mean time, let us take short views of life. So you two young people are

going to look at the pah?"

 

"With your permission. I should like to examine it well. The knowledge

may come in useful by-and-by. Who knows? When was the last attack made

upon it?"

 

"Twice in Heke's war, more than twenty years ago. I was younger then,

and had the honour of being one of the defence force. We beat off the

besiegers with loss."

 

"I suppose firearms were used?"

 

"Certainly. Every tribe was well provided at that time. They bought

them dearly, too, as the chiefs compelled them to work so fearfully

hard at the flax-dressing--_Phormium tenax_ being the purchase-money

for muskets--that many died of the unhealthy conditions, marshy levels,

and crowded whares in which they lived. However, there was nothing else

for it. The tribe which first became armed proceeded at once to crush

its nearest neighbour or enemy, as the case might be."

 

"So it was a case of life and death?"

 

"Nothing short of it," said Mannering. "The first use which Hongi Ika

made of his civilizing visit to England, where he 'stood before kings,'

was to grasp the immense significance of the gunpowder invention, and

make bad resolutions, to be carried out when he should return to his

own country. With characteristic Maori reticence, he kept his own

counsel when staying with the worthy pioneer missionary, Marsden, at

his house in Parramatta, where Admiral King often met him, and was much

struck with his dignified and aristocratic carriage. By the way, it was

the admiral's father, Governor King, who took the trouble to return to

their own country two deported Maoris from Norfolk Island, where they

were languishing in exile, having been carried there with some idea of

teaching the art of flax-dressing. This, of course, they could not do."

 

"Why? Did they not know?"

 

"Of course not. They were chiefs, and as such incapable of menial

labour."

 

The weather being favourable to the expedition to the pah, Roland

Massinger and his fair guide set out with that sanguine expectation

of pleasure which the exploration of the unknown in congenial company

excites in early youth. The path lay across the cultivated plots of

the tribe, where he noticed the neatness and freedom from weeds which

everywhere prevailed. The plantations were chiefly on an alluvial flat,

through which a creek ran its winding course. It had been swollen by

recent rains, so, encountering a small party of women and children

carrying baskets, Erena inquired in the vernacular as to the best

place to cross. A pleasant-looking woman asked, apparently, who the

pakeha was, and after receiving Erena's reply, in which Massinger

detected the word "rangatira," laughed as she made a jesting reply,

and volunteered to guide them. This she did by leading the way to the

side of a boundary fence; from this she extemporized a bridge, which,

though narrow, answered the purpose. The pakeha gave a shilling to a

bright-eyed elf running beside her, the sudden lighting up of whose